Watch JoJo's Powerful New Music Video About Addiction

Bonus: Zelda Williams directed the stunning clip.

Sometimes the best work comes from a place that's deeply personal, and that includes great music. When you write what you know, it's authentic and real, and people can't help but connect to that vulnerability. That's exactly what JoJo did with "Save My Soul," a song she says "is about addiction. Of all kinds. I wanted to convey the feeling of powerlessness I've felt in my life in an uncomplicated way and show a range of what it might look like for others who've been there."

The singer took to Instagram today to explain the new music video she dropped for the song. The clip itself is dedicated to JoJo's father, who passed away last year. "We filmed this video about a month before my father lost his decades long battle with addiction," she said in a hand-written note. "His death honestly felt like it came out of nowhere…and yet I had been mourning him for years…if that makes any sense."

JoJo tapped her friend Zelda Williams to direct the clip, which was filmed out in the desert with their friends and not much else. The two share a knowledge of what it's like to have a parent who struggles with addiction — and to sadly lose that parent. Zelda added the following note about the video's concept on her Tumblr:

"Save My Soul" is Jo’s very real, very honest ode to addiction, and in
her expressing her truth, I wanted to give others the opportunity to
do the same. So, because I like to make things interesting (and
arguably difficult), I decided to drag a therapist’s couch into the
middle of Joshua Tree and make our wonderful band of misfit friends
sit on it, Jo and I included! No, you don’t get to hear their truths,
that’s my responsibility alone, but the courage it took Jojo to sing
this song deserved courage in return, and each of them delivered on
that a hundred fold. I wanted the real, beautiful emotions of people
we both know and love to be the instruments that played alongside Jo,
and that’s exactly what I got.

That couch looks like an island in the middle of the desert for a
reason, because I know how isolating it can be to try to express
yourself. Showing emotions in a world that seems averse to them can be
scary, and more often than not it feels as though you’re the only
person on the planet going thru it! But I promise you, for every one
who doesn’t understand, there are others out there who will, others
who may be comforted to know they’re not the only ones. Everyone’s got
a story, whether you’ve heard it or not. I’m grateful Jo let me help
her tell hers. Hopefully, it’s only the first of many, many more to
come.

It's been a big few months for JoJo, who first released a "tringle" of three new songs, and followed it up with an EP that featured four songs, III. at the end of last year. "It never feels like enough though," she admitted to Teen Vogue during a phone call at the end of last year. "I just want to continue to release content. I don’t feel like I’m making up for lost time, but it does feel great to hit the ground running and to be putting out music which is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life."

She added that though she'd been in a long legal battle with her old record label, "I had never stopped being in the studio. Over the last few years, I’ve recorded hundreds of songs, but knowing that the songs would be heard this time put a new feeling in the air for me. There was a bit of pressure that I’d put on myself while I was in the studio, but I tried to sit back and have fun, and be as honest and real as I could." One thing's for sure: this song, and the revealing music video, is just about as honest as you can get.

We won't be able to hear the songs — consider them the unofficial "lost years" — but she's still looking on the bright side. "I wasn’t wicked distraught about starting fresh," she said. "I was looking forward to bringing that new energy and positivity after the release of that contract into this new era."

"I’m so excited for people to hear the full album in 2016," she added. Did you hear that!? A new album! Prepare to freak out now! But there's not a release date yet, as she says she's "just taking it one day at a time. I’m excited to feel like myself again. I’ve been waiting to do what I love for a long time and it feels great." Even if she's tackling really heavy subjects, she's still got a great outlook for what this year has in store. That's proof positive that she's doing something right.